Electric vacuum cleaner having a suction set which is movable over the surface to be cleaned



Aug. 31, 1943- J. VAN DER HEEM 2,328,514

ELECTRIC VACUUM CLEANER HAVING'A SUCTION SET WHICH IS MOVABLE OVER THE SURFACE TO BE CLEANED Filed May 19, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet l m Aug. 31, 1943. J. VAN DER HEEM 2,323,014

ELECTRIC VACUUM CLEANER HAVING A SUCTION SET WHICH IS MOVABLE OVER THE SURFACE TO BE CLEANED Filed May 19, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patenlecl Aug. 31, 1943 ELECTRIC VACUUM CLEANER, HAVING A SUCTION SET WHICH IS MOVABLE OVER THE SURFACE TO BE CLEANED Jan van der Hcem, The Hague, Netherlands; vested in the Alien Property Custodian Application May 19, 1941, Serial No. 394,218 In the Netherlands November 4, 1940 3 Claims.

The invention relates to an electric vacuum cleaner of the type whereby a travelling suction assembly comprising the combination of motor, fan and suction mouth is moved by means of a handle over the surface to be cleaned and whereby the dust collector, the lower part of which being connected to the suction assembly, is suspended by its upper part from the handle. By suction assembly I mean an assembly of parts the function of which is to create suction. With suction cleaners of th type described the suction assembly is supported by three or four wheels and the height of the suction mouth above the surface to be cleaned is determined by the relative position of said mouth with respect to the axles of the wheels.

In connection with the nature and the quality of the surface to be cleaned the proper function ing of the vacuum cleaner depends on the height of the suction mouth above said surface. Therefore it is very desirable that the height of the suction mouth above the surface to be cleaned is adjustable. This invention provides a vacuum cleaner whereby the adjustment of the height of the suction mouth above the surface to be cleaned can be eiTected in an easy and suitable manner.

Various devices have been proposed already which with a vacuum cleaner of the described type renders possible the adjustment of the suction mouth above the-surface to be cleaned. These well-known devices have several drawbacks, however, which are avoided with the device according to this invention.

It is known to make the suction member tiltable with respect to the base of the wheels and K to adjust the height of the suction mouth by means of an adjusting screw arranged on the suc' tion member (see for example the Netherlands Patent No. 36,901). With said device a continuous i. e., an even 0r non-stop adjustment of the height of the suction mouth is possible, but the drawback of this construction is that it is always necessary to stoop in order to reach the adjusting screw and that the position of the suction mouth cannot be seen from above. Due to these drawbacks the said adjusting method is less suitable. With another well-known construction the suction member is adapted to pivot about the axle of the hind-wheels, that is to say about the axle of the wheels which are remotest from the suction mouth and the adjustment of the height of the suction mouth is eiiected by the fact that the axle of the front-wheel is brought into another position with respect to the suction member, whereby the height of the suction mouth is determined by means of a feeler (see the British Patent No. 506,513). This device, however, is very complicated and moreover it has the drawback that a continuous adjustment is not possible since the position of the suction mouth with respect to the wheel-base is fixed by means of a toothed arm handle and to release the pedal.

engaged by a pawl.

According to the invention the suction member, which is adapted to tilt over a restricted angle about a stationary axle, is mounted on a travelling under-carriage to which a locking device is at tached which may be operated by means of a pedal. After being released the suction mouth is brought into the desired position with the aid of a handle attached to the suction member. In this manner with a very simple construction a vacuum cleaner is made which'may be operated easily. If the properties of the surface to be cleaned are altered the height of the suction mouth can be adjusted rapidly. To this end it is only necessary to push in the pedal, to bring the suction member into its right position by a light pressure on the Since it is important to adjust the suction mouth in the right height with surfaces of different propertiesfor example with carpets into which the wheels of the vacuum cleaner will sink away a little-according to the invention an indicator is arranged on the suction member by which it is possible to adjust definite predetermined heights of the suction mouth.

The invention will be further explained along the lines of an embodiment illustrated in the drawings. In these drawings Figure 1 is a sideview, partly in section, of a vacuum cleaner according to the invention. Figure 2 is a top view of the frame with the suction mouth of the vacuum cleaner according to Figure 1 wherein the motor-ian-set is removed.

Figure 1 illustrates the housing I in which the motor-fan-set is mounted and to which the lower end of the dust collector (not shown in the drawings) is attached. This set is attached to the suction mouth 2 so that the suction opening of the set comes to lie above the opening 4 in the suction mouth 2. The handle 3 for operating the suction cleaner is attached to the housing I. If the vacuum cleaner is not in use the handle is kept in its vertical position by means of a pawl 5 under spring action, having a projection 6 for operation by the foot.

The suction opening 4 in the suction mouth leads into the suction mouth I. In the front of the suction mouth an opening is provided which is closed by a cover 8. If desired a suction tube can be introduced into said opening, which closes the suction mouth.

The combination of motor-fan-set and suction mouth is mounted on a carriage 9 having frontwheels 10 and hind-wheels II. In the proposed embodiment two hind-wheels areillustrated but of course it is also possible to build the frame with one hind-wheel. By this some structural alterations are necessary which, however, are not important to the invention in question.

The suction mouth 2 is adapted to pivot about a spindle 12 on the frame, viz. on an upright edge attached thereto. The combination of the motor-fan-set and the suction mouth is adapted to be tilted over a restricted angle about the spindle l2. This angle is restricted in one direction since the suction mouth cannot be brought lower than the wheel-base of the frontand hind-wheels, Whereas the angle is restricted in the other direction since the portion 14 of the suction mouth which is protruding backwardly abuts against the axle of the hind-wheels. In the protruding portion M a pin 45 is arranged which is clamped in a locking device so that when the position of the height of the suction mouth above the surface to'be cleaned is chosen, it can be fixed.

According to the invention this locking operation occurs in the following way. The axle 16 of the hind-wheels is provided with a fiat portion I! in which an opening is provided through which the locking pin I is introduced (see Fig. 1). This opening is so dimensioned with respect to the pin that the axle may be clamped on the locking pin, whereby the locking can easily be released by turning the axle a little backwardly. This turning back may be effected by means of a pedal l8 attached to the axle lfi of the hindwheels and abutting by the arm l9 against the frame 9. By means of the spring 20 which is connected by its one end to the frame and by 1 its other end to the pedal IS the axle i6 is always kept in the'said position'if the pedal is not used, whereby the portion l'l retains the locking pin l5. It is a matter'of course that the invention is not restricted to the use of a pull spring IS in order to keep the axle IS in its locked position, but that to this end also another kind of resilient member may be use-d, for example a spiral wound around the axle l6, without leaving the inventive idea.

The indicating device according to the invention is arranged in a housing 2| mounted on the frame. This device which can easily be seen by the operator from above, comprises an indicator plate 22 in which corresponding to the numbering thereon some slits 24 are made. Behind said indicator plate an indicator 23 is slidable (see Figure l). A white stripe is arranged on said indicator and becomes visible in definite positions through the slits 24 (Figure 2). The movement of the indicator takes place in th following way. To the indicator there is attached a driving member 26 having a slit catching a pin of the tiltable member 25. This member 25 is rotatable about a spindle arranged in a member 27 which is attached to the suction mouth. It is driven by means of a connection strip 28 which one one end is rotatably connected to the member 25. and on the other end rotatably to the frame. If the position of the suction mouth with respect to the frame is altered, the member 25 will be pivoted over a certain angle and consequently the indicator 23 will be displaced over a corresponding distance.

The vacuum cleaner in question is by way of example an embodiment of the inventive idea underlying the patent application. It is a matter of course that the details could be amended Without deviating from the inventive idea.

I claim:

1. In a vacuum cleaner adapted to be moved over a surface to be cleaned, an under-carriage having wheels, a suction assembly mounted to swing on said carriage about an axis transverse thereof and adapted to be adjusted with respect to said surface, a pin mounted on said suction assembly, a rotatable shaft mounted on said under-carriage and having an opening therein for receiving said pin and means normally urging said shaft in a direction to clamp said pin in said opening.

2. In a vacuum cleaner adapted to be moved over the surface to be cleaned, an under-carriage having wheels, a suction assembly mounted to swing on said under-carriage about an axis transverse thereto, a pin mounted on said suction assembly, a rotatable shaft mounted on said under-carriage, said shaft having an opening therein for receiving said pin, spring means normally urging said shaft in a direction to clamp said pin in said opening and a pedal fixed to said shaft for counteracting said spring means in order to release said pin in said opening.

3. In a vacuum cleaner adapted to be moved over the surface to be cleaned, an under-carriage having wheels, a suction assembly mounted to swing on said under-carriage about an axis transverse thereto, a pin mounted on said suction assembly, an axle for a traction wheel rotata-bly mounted on said under-carriage and having an opening therein for receiving said pin, spring means normally urging said axle in a direction to clamp said pin in said opening and a pedal fixed to said axle for counteracting said spring means in order to release said pin in said opening.

JAN VAN DER HEEM. 

